Gold, Silver Fall To Four-Month Lows; Should You Buy?

By Brendan Conway

Gold prices fell for the third straight session Thursday to settle at $1,644.90, the lowest since Aug. 22. Silver fell even harder, losing 4.6% today, also the lowest settle since Aug. 22. When it comes to funds, the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) is down 1.3% this afternoon and the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) is down by 4%.

But check out precious-metals mining funds, which aren’t faring nearly as badly. The Market Vectors Gold Miners (GDX) is down by 0.7%, as is the usually quite volatile Global X Silver Miners (SIL). The Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners (GDXJ), also not known for its staid trading, is down by 1.3%.

Should gold bulls be loading up on the dip? Well, if you do, even other bulls are saying that you should be prepared for pain.

About Focus on Funds

As exchange-traded funds and other investing vehicles have ballooned in number, the task of figuring out what works well and what doesn’t has only gotten harder. Barrons.com’s Focus on Funds looks under the hood of ETFs, mutual funds and hedge funds for overlooked values, actionable ideas and the latest pitfalls for fund investors.

Chris Dieterich has covered the U.S. stock market for The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires. He is a graduate of Regis University and the Missouri School of Journalism.